Odisha Refuses To Accept Ordered PPE Kits, Trucks Remain Parked Outside OSMCL Warehouse

Bhubaneswar: With the Odisha government refusing to accept PPE kits, around 40 trucks carrying these kits from various suppliers remained parked outside the warehouse of Odisha State Medical Corporation Limited (OSMCL) on Saturday. This has been the case for the past eight to 10 days.

“We took the call of the nation to make PPE kits following confirmation from the OSMCL. The initial deadline for the month of July was abruptly shifted to May-end. Now, the corporation refused to accept the delivery orders,” a company spokesperson told IANS.

The corporation had floated a tender, seeking PPE kits by July. It had place orders for 15.7 lakh PPE kits, 2.2 crore triple-layer masks, 7.5 lakh N95 masks, 1.7 crore nose clip adaptable masks and other gear for the healthcare workers. However, it later told the suppliers that it will not accept any delivery after May 26.

Additional Chief Secretary, Health Department, Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra told IANS that the matter will be decided on Monday.

Odisha has enough stock of PPE kits, he added.